Mets cut 5 more players from camp

The Mets have cut 5 more minor leaguers from Spring Training camp. The following players have been re-assigned to minor league camp: Akeel Morris, Noah Syndergaard, Kevin Plawecki, Jon Velasquez, and Cory Mazzoni. The team is now down to 39 players.

Noah Syndergaard- Noah seemed like he would be given a stronger opportunity to prove himself once Zack Wheeler went under the knife with Tommy John surgery, but that never seemed to truly happen. Syndergaard had a decent spring, but everyone knew that the odds were against him for breaking camp with the squad.

As a 22 year old, a little more seasoning couldn't hurt Syndergaard, who projects to be the ace of the 51's rotation to start the 2015 season. All eyes will be on Noah this summer as he will show whether he is ready for the show or not.

Akeel Morris- Morris is someone that I have had my eye on for a couple of years now, but as a 22 year old in A-ball, it was relatively surprising to see him get an invite to Spring Training. Clearly Morris is a project, as he has battled rough walk percentages throughout his minor league career, but the payoff could be tremendous. 

2014 was his best season yet, posting a 0.61 era in 41 relief appearances, with (an improved) 3.5 BB/9 ratio, and career high 14.1 K/9 ratio. The potential is there for Morris, who projects to start the year in Binghamton. If I were the Mets, I would continue to take time with his development, because, as I said earlier, he is that type of prospect where the ceiling could be astounding. 

Kevin Plawecki- Like Syndergaard, he is another prospect whose MLB debut will have to be pushed back due to the unfortunate Super-Two cutoff restrictions. However, there is no doubt in my mind that Plawecki is ready for the big leagues. Not only is he ready, but he is that type of player that could make an immediate impact if thrown into the starting lineup.

I'm going to go on record and say that Plawecki is the starting catcher for the Mets by mid-season. It's not as much of a knock on Travis d'Arnaud, who will be the team's Opening Day catcher, I just love Plawecki THAT much. In the short term, he will start the 2015 year by being the starting backstop for the Las Vegas 51s. 

Jon Velasquez- I don't see Velasquez becoming anything more than a fringe reliever at the big league level. As someone who has had a long and tiring minor league (and independent league ball) career, Velasquez has slowly worked himself up the chain of command, but I can't foresee him getting any attention from the Varsity squad in 2015. 

His 3.62 ERA in 44 relief appearances for Binghamton last year was mediocre at best. With that in mind, he'll probably start the year in Binghamton once again, and maybe, just maybe, he'll finish the year in Las Vegas. 

Nothing really to see here.

Cory Mazzoni- Mazzoni has battled injury after injury over the last few seasons. Also during that time, he has gone from a legitimate starting pitching prospect to a fringe reliever at best. I've heard rumors that he will begin the year out of the bullpen for the 51s, but I will keep a close eye on that for sure. 

Mazzoni could still have a use for New York, but I don't expect to see him in Queens anytime this year. At age 25, one can begin to wonder if he'd be the next on the 40 man roster chopping block if they were to acquire a player during the season.